Slow The Rain
by Technicolourful
Summary: A large set of drabbles which will cover many pairings, especially non-canon, or ununusual ones. Don't judge a fic by its summary! Read and Review!  UP NOW: DRACO/HERMIONE
1. As Much As You Lead

**(A/N) Another new story. This one is going to be a lot of separate drabbles. I'm thinking of going up to 50, but if I can't manage that, then I'll stick with whatever number I think is best. I have NO beta. Please excuse mistakes. I DO NOT own Harry Potter or the songs I use. The title is from an Ingrid Michaelson song: A Bird's Song. Listen to it, it's excellent!  
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**This first drabble is Severus/Lily (one-sided), but I am very willing to take requests. I will write basically anything: slash, het, femslash, etc. I'm going to take pairings, and put a song to them, as a little inspiration. **

**I recommend listening to all the songs I use, because they're all awesome.**

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_As Much As You Lead - Lex Land  
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Love was a strange thing. Severus didn't think he liked it very much. It was painful. He had seen what it had done to his mother and father. He had seen how it had torn apart his mother, and how it turned his father into a raging drunk. Drinking because he beat his wife, beating his wife because he drank. Severus had seen the bruises on her face.

Once, Severus had asked his mother why she stayed, when his father was so cruel. He remembered it well. He had been four. She was baking an apple pie, humming merrily, and wearing a red chequered apron. He noticed how she was favouring her left foot, and had recalled that the night before, Father had pushed her down.

He had yanked on her apron and asked her the question. She had looked down at him, smiling tiredly, and said, "I love him." He had not understood how she could love such a hateful man, and she wouldn't say anything more on the subject.

He understood now. He knew that no matter what, he could never leave Lily. He would never give her up. She could try to kill him, and he would still love her. He would walk the end of the earth and back for her. He would do anything to make her happy. But she didn't want him. They were friends, and that was all. It hurt. He wanted her to realise he was everything she wanted. He would worship her, and love her until he died. Lily was his whole world.

He knew that he was too young to be so certain, but he also knew that this was no passing fancy. Severus had loved Lily since the day she had flown out of that swing, and made a flower open and close. He loved her then, even though he didn't recognise the emotion.

He would always follow her, hoping, waiting, wishing that one day she would return his affections. He knew, deep in his heart, he didn't have a chance. She had said on more then one occasion that she considered him her brother. He had smiled at her and said that he felt the same.

Severus sat in the library, brooding over his pathetic love life. He wondered if he would be able to make her jealous by dating Helen Zabini. He was making a pros and cons list when Lily came over and sat next to him. It was the weekend, so she was wearing a maroon muggle dress. She looked beautiful.

"What's that?" she enquired, nodding toward the sheet. Severus looked up, feigning nonchalance, but covering it slightly with his hand.

"Just a short outline for an essay in Divination; we have to discuss the pros and cons of using herbal candles while Tarot reading." He said it easily: she didn't take Divination. Lily nodded, accepting the answer. He put away the list before she could read any of it.

"Sev?" she asked, hesitantly. He looked at her. It was unlike Lily to be timid. Her green eyes were looking at him, searchingly. She seemed concerned, and a little worried.

"Yeah?" He watched her. Were his dreams finally coming true? Was she going to tell him what he'd always wanted to hear?

"Why don't you have a girlfriend? We're in our sixth year, and you've never had a girlfriend. You should get one, Sev. It would be good for you to have another female presence around, besides me." He stared at her, agape. Out of all the things she could have asked him, she went with...this.

"Why do you suddenly care?" Severus said, rather snappily. She had never talked about this before. Once she had asked him if he liked anyone, but he had told her no, and that had been that. Lily looked uncomfortable, twisting her hands in her lap.

"The thing is," she began, pausing for a moment before taking a breath and continuing, "the thing is, Sev, Gideon Prewett asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him, and... I said yes." He looked at her. She wasn't smiling, so she was serious. He needed to get away.

"That's great, Lily. I'm happy for you," he said, emotionlessly, "I've got to go do something in my common room now. Goodbye." Severus picked up his bag and left the library without a backward glance.

He didn't make it to the common room. Instead, he just closed the door to an empty classroom and broke down. He could never be better than Gideon Prewett. Gideon was handsome, funny, caring, and most importantly, a Gryffindor. Severus had no chance.

That was when Severus gave up entirely. Lily would never love him the way he loved her. But he would love her forever. Until the day he died.

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**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Dustland Fairytale

**(A/N) Another new story. This one is going to be a lot of separate drabbles. I'm thinking of going up to 50, but if I can't manage that, then I'll stick with whatever number I think is best. I have NO beta. Please excuse mistakes. I DO NOT own Harry Potter or the songs I use. The title is from an Ingrid Michaelson song: A Bird's Song. Listen to it, it's excellent!**

**I am very willing to take requests on pairings. I will write basically anything: slash, het, femslash, etc. I'm going to take pairings, and put a song to them, as a little inspiration. **

**I recommend listening to all the songs I use, because they're all awesome.

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**This next drabble is Hermione/Draco. I had a few issues with it, because I haven't ever written Dramione. Still, it was quite fun, and I really enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed getting out of my usual writing style, and trying somethig new.  
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_Dustland Fairytale – The Killers _

She was not happy. She didn't expect that, which made her even more upset. Hermione liked things to go as planned. She liked everything nice and orderly. Especially things as planned as this.

The Yule Ball was the night her dreams were supposed to come true. She was supposed to be the happiest witch at the dance, but instead, she was sitting on the bench. Alone. That was the most important bit. She looked down the lit path of bushes, watching other blissful couples holding hands and kissing. _That could be me,_ she thought. But it wasn't.

Three weeks ago, had someone told her that she would be going to the ball with _him_, she would have hexed them for teasing her. Ron was the man of her dreams, and she had thought he would never like her the way she liked – _loved_ – him.

But now, sitting here on this bench, she realised that she definitely did not love Ron Weasley. She had, once, loved the idea of him. Or (and this was more likely) she loved the idea of having someone there, someone who liked her more than a friend. But she did not love _him._

It had been going well, the dance, for a while. Soon, though, Hermione noticed Ron wasn't looking at her very much. Instead he was eying up other girls. Most of the time, his gaze returned to Fleur Delacour. Hermione did not appreciate this at all.

Hermione had eventually suggested drinks, and Ron had very eagerly taken up the task of finding them. He had not yet returned. She had been waiting for a while, and the time allowed herself to flit through a wide array of emotions.

At first, she was miserable. She had been stood up. It was awful. Quickly after that, however, she had become angry, then impatient, then sad again, but she had at last settled on resignation.

There was still lingering hope, however. She looked nice tonight, and she hoped that someone would notice. There were so many people here; couldn't at least one ask her to dance?

So, when Draco Malfoy asked her to dance, it didn't occur to her to say no. She wasn't desperate, not really. If, say, Ernie McMillan had asked her, she probably would have politely declined. But Draco was not Ernie. He was handsome (as much as Hermione was loathe to admit it) and there was just something about him that attracted her.

He wasn't awful. The past year, he had been positively nice. Ever since Buckbeak's escape, Draco had acted different. He wasn't as mean to the Gryffindors, and he didn't prance about Hogwarts as if he owned it. Another factor in his new attitude might also have been Lucius Malfoy's death over the summer. Suicide, most likely, and it was actually quite awful. Draco didn't seem incredibly upset, but there had been rumours that Lucius had a more..._physical_ way of dealing with punishment.

Hermione didn't even think, she just accepted. He was a very good dancer, and for that she was glad. Ron had stepped on her poor toes one too many times that evening. They didn't speak for a while: the song was almost over when she finally looked directly into his piercing grey eyes and asked, "Why?"

He didn't need her to explain, understanding what she wanted to know. He leant in toward her, and murmured in her ear. "Because I like you. Is that so hard to believe? Because you looked lonely, and because Pansy is a clingy slut, and because..." He couldn't think of anymore reasons, but that was enough for her. "Why did you say yes?"

Hermione grinned. "Because I was lonely. Because Ron is the biggest ass to walk the Earth. But also because I like you, too." Draco nodded. That was enough for him, as well.

So maybe they didn't hate each other anymore. They didn't love each other either. But it was a start, and a good one at that.


End file.
